You Give Me Fever
by darveyswhiskey
Summary: A sick Donna, and a worried Harvey taking care of her.


He couldn't concentrate.

Harvey checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

 _11:58_

He let out a frustrated sigh, which really was a mask for the concern he felt coursing through him.

Donna hadn't come into work that morning, and he knew it wasn't her day off. Hell, they had planned on meeting that morning to go over a case. Besides, Harvey never knew a time where she wasn't the first one to arrive at the office. He had tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Three times. Harvey wracked his brain, trying to think of a logical explanation for why she wasn't at work that morning.

 _Maybe she had some prior appointment she forgot to mention?_

Harvey shook his head, Donna would never forget _anything_. And she would have told him. Wouldn't she?

He glanced at his watch again.

 _12:01_

With his heart in his throat, stomach in knots, Harvey shot out of his seat and left his office. Marching straight into Louis' office, he spoke before letting the man greet him.

"Do you know where Donna is?" Harvey asked impatiently.

Louis looked on confused. "Isn't she in her office?"

"If she was in her office, do you really think I'd be here asking you?" There was an edge to his voice.

"I'm- sorry, Harvey, I don't know where she is. Have you tried calling her?" Louis looked concerned now for his friend.

Harvey sighed. "She didn't pick up."

"I'm sure everything is fine, she probably just got hung up on something."

 _Still,_ she would have told me. Harvey thought silently.

"We had a meeting this morning." He told Louis instead.

Louis nodded. "Maybe you should check with Rachel?"

Harvey mentally chastised himself for not being able to think about that earlier. He nodded. "Thanks, Louis." Before he made it out of Louis' office, the senior partner called out to him. Harvey turned around.

"Let me know when you hear from her, okay?" Louis asked, a look of concern on his features. Harvey only nodded, giving the man a small smile before heading out.

His walk to Rachel's office felt like an eternity. _I just need to know she's okay,_ he kept telling himself.

"Rachel." Harvey greeted upon entering her office.

"Oh, hey Harvey how-"

"Have you heard from Donna?" Harvey cut her off, wanting to get to the chase.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. "She's not here?"

Harvey sighed. _Why can't people just answer my damn question?_

"No, Rachel, she's not. I haven't seen or heard from her all morning, I called her and she doesn't pick up. Did she speak with you at all lately? Did she have somewhere she had to go this morning?" Harvey prodded, his impatience running thin.

Rachel shook her head. "I- talked to her last night before going home, but no, I haven't heard from her since." Her voice was low, small, worry dripping from her words.

Harvey nodded, almost defeated. "If you hear from her-"

"You'll be the first to know" Rachel nodded. "And if you do, please let me know."

With a final nod and weak smile, Harvey left her office and headed in the opposite direction of his own.

He was going to find Donna.

…

Without having to think twice about it, Harvey found himself heading to Donna's apartment.

When he reached her door, a wave of deja vu overcame him, but he quickly shook it off. _Now was not the time,_ and he knocked on her door.

Nothing.

He knocked again, louder this time.

Still nothing.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harvey pulled out his keys. _Screw it_ , he thought. He never used his keys to her apartment as freely as she used hers. It always felt like some invasion of privacy and he didn't like doing that to her. But this time he was worried. If she was fine, she could yell at him, tease him, all she wanted. He just had to know she was _okay._

Opening the door, he was immediately greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting.

Donna. Asleep on her couch.

He took a moment to breathe a little better. _She's here. She's okay._

Except- she didn't really look it. Harvey knitted his eyebrows, that overwhelming feeling of concern and protectiveness washing over him again as he approached her. Taking a closer look, he noted that her skin looked paler than usual, nose red, large blankets swalloweing her frame, making her appear smaller.

Glancing down to the coffee table, he noticed boxes of tissues, some cough medicine, and a cup of water. Harvey sighed.

 _She was sick._

Finally knowing where she was and having an explanation for her earlier absence only washed away a small portion of his concern. He hated seeing her this way. In fact, he couldn't even remember a time Donna was sick in all the years they had known each other? Certainly not to this extent.

Shuffling his way over to her, he leaned down, gently tucking her red hair behind her ear, exposing her face to him a bit more.

"Donna." He called out to her quietly. "Donna." He tried again after getting no response, a little louder this time. He nudged her shoulder gently, trying to get her to wake up without startling her.

Her lithe body began to stir, eyebrows furrowed, and eyes fluttering, trying to adjust to the light in the room.

"Wh- what? Harvey?" She squinted her eyes in his direction, staring up at him until his shape became less distorted and she could see clearer.

"Hey." His brown eyes were warm as he smiled down at her, hand still on her shoulder, thumb subconsciously running circles on her skin.

"What-" She yawned, sitting up straighter on the couch. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was raspy and hoarse as she spoke.

 _I was worried about you._ Harvey thought to himself. He watched her make room for him on the couch, curling on one side with her legs tucked into her chest.

"You didn't show up for work this morning." He told her simply, sitting down next to her.

Donna tilted her face to the side, confusion written all over her face. "This morning?"

Harvey could only stare at her in concern before responding. "Yeah, this morning. We had a meeting." _One I could care less about at the moment though,_ he thought.

"What time is it?" Eyes wide and alert, Donna glanced between him and the watch he wore.

"It's- a quarter to one." Harvey told her after checking his watch.

" _Shit."_ Donna muttered, immediately swinging her legs over the couch, scrambling to pick up the blankets on the couch. The last thing Donna had remembered was taking some cough medicine and settling on the couch the night before at eleven o'clock. Everything else was a blur.

Harvey sat up straighter, giving her a confused look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get ready to leave, what does it look like I'm doing?" Donna responded without looking at her boss, shuffling around, picking up the items on the coffee table.

Harvey shot up from the couch. "Whoa, you're not going anywhere." He placed his hand on hers where it currently held the cough medicine, feeling her body radiating with too much warmth.

"Why the hell not?" Donna challenged him.

"Donna, you're _sick._ " Harvey emphasized.

"I'm fine." She gave him a smile.

Harvey tilted his head. "Donna…"

"Harvey…" She countered back, waiting for him to make his compelling argument.

"You're not in the best shape to go to work today."

Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Harvey." She reached down to continue picking up her surroundings.

"You look awful, Donna. You can't go in today like this."

Her head shot up at him, raising an eyebrow. "I look _awful_?"

He stuttered. "I just meant- you look _sick._ You know you always look great."

Donna bit back her laughter, giving him a teasing smile. "Do I?"

"I- you look- you know you-" Harvey groaned.

Donna laughed at how quickly he became uncomfortable.

"I just meant you don't look like your usual self, ok?" Harvey recovered, finally being able to give her a complete sentence.

She sighed. "Harvey, I can't _not_ come in today. This case is too important to you."

" _You're_ more important to me." Harvey told her pointedly, almost as surprised at his own words as Donna was.

They stared at each other for a long moment, both contemplating what he had just said and what to say in response.

"Okay." Donna finally spoke, the word quietly falling from her lips.

Harvey's shoulders dropped as the tension gradually left him. "Good." He nodded in response, smiling at her.

"I'm uh- just going to-" Donna motioned in the direction of her ensuite.

"I'll be here." Harvey spoke before he could think. Donna only smiled in response, continuing in the direction of her bedroom.

Harvey settled on her couch, placing his head in his hands and sighed, the mornings events and stress finally catching up to him. He suddenly remembered then to send a quick text to both Rachel and Louis, letting them know Donna was okay, just sick. Louis replied almost immediately.

" _Tell her I said I hope she gets betters soon. Take the rest of the day off."_

Followed by Rachel.

" _Take care of her."_

Harvey only nodded, even though he knew they couldn't see him. He sent a quick text back to both of them before putting his phone away.

A few moments later, he heard the shower running, and immediately started wondering what he should do for Donna. He knew he didn't want to leave her alone.

Glancing around her apartment, he took in all the little details, the frames around the room. A particular one caught his eye and his stood up, walking over to her mantle.

A few he recognized as a younger Donna, some with her family, others from when she was studying theatre in college. The rest were more recent. There was one with Rachel from Rachel's last birthday, a group photo at the firm with Louis, Mike, Rachel, Jessica, Donna, and himself. And the last one…

He picked up the frame. Staring down at the picture, he remembered the day it was taken. It had been the firm's holiday party about two years prior. They had had a good time. Whatever was going on at that time in their lives, whatever drama they were facing at the firm, you couldn't tell from the picture. It was a candid still of him and Donna, looking at each other, smiles wide with whatever they had found amusing at the moment, eyes alight with humor and something else he couldn't place. They looked happy. They looked-

"Rachel took that." Donna's voice shook him out of the moment.

He turned around. "I didn't hear you come out of the shower."

Donna shrugged, clad in a pair of gray sweatpants and a white sweatshirt. Harvey took in the sight of her, noticing that some of the color had returned to her skin, although her voice was still hoarse.

She walked over to him, taking the frame from his hands and studied the photograph. She smiled looking at the slightly younger version of themselves. "I can't even remember what we were laughing about." She said softly.

"I'm sure I said something incredibly hysterical." Harvey mused.

Donna rolled her eyes. Placing the picture back on the mantle. "I'm sure you were _drunk._ " She replied dryly, heading over to the kitchen to grab herself a cup of water.

Harvey followed her. "How are you feeling?" He chose to ask instead of responding to her quip.

Donna shrugged, taking a sip of water. "I'm fine." She replied confidently, a cough following, contradicting her previous statement.

Harvey narrowed his eyes. "You're still not coming in today." He told her sternly.

Donna motioned to her clothes. "Well, obviously."

A moment of comfortable silence settled between them.

"Are you hungry?" Harvey suddenly realized she probably hasn't eaten since the night before. "I can make you something? Do you want some soup because I can try to figure out how-"

"Harvey…" Donna put up a hand to stop his ramblings, an amused smile on her face. "I don't need to get food poisoning too."

He gave her an unamused look. "Hey, I'm an excellent chef."

Donna raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when, Casanova?"

"Since- okay fine, I can't cook shit, but I can order in? I can look for the best chicken soup in the city. Or do you want something else like Chinese? Maybe Thai?"

Donna looked on amused as Harvey rambled, heart warming at his need to make sure she was well-fed. "Harvey…"

Harvey stopped his rambling to look at her, sighing. "I just- I'm feeling a little helpless right now."

Donna gave him a quizzical look.

"You're sick, but- I don't know what to do to make you feel better." He spoke softly.

Donna's heart leaped at his words, warmth settling all over her. She bit her lip in thought. "Okay, I'll have some soup. And Chinese." She added as an afterthought.

Harvey smiled, glad for having something to do now. "I'll get right on it." He pulled out his phone and started making orders.

Donna shook her head, amusement and delight settling in her.

…

An hour and a half later, they were settled on her couch, half-empty containers of Chinese food scattered around the coffee table. The television was on in the background, but neither had been paying much attention to it as they had settled into some easy conversation.

Donna yawned. "Well, Chinese is officially my favorite cold-pick-me-up meal." She smiled, eyes starting to droop.

Harvey mirrored her smile. "You should get some sleep." He told her gently.

"'m not tired." Donna yawned again, followed by a small series of coughs.

Harvey shook his head at her stubborn nature. "Sleep." He insisted again.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Donna. "Hey, you didn't go to work today."

"What?"

"Work. The place you go to everyday." Donna emphasized. "It's- nearing four, you should start heading back to work."

Harvey should his head. "I'm not leaving you alone."

She tilted her head to the side. "I'm sick, Harvey, not invalid."

Still, Harvey shook his head. He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate at work knowing she was home alone and sick. Granted she looked and sounded better than earlier, but still, he _couldn't._

"Louis can take care of things by himself." He replied.

"Since when is that your philosophy?" Donna asked, not convinced Harvey truly believed that.

"Okay, Mike and Rachel will be there to help." Harvey smiled at his response.

"You're impossible." Donna muttered, yawning once again.

"And you're tired. Go to bed. I'll clean up in here." He told her once more.

Donna just stared at him, taking in his suit, now sans tie and coat, and even shoes. The look suited him, she thought. He looked right at home, here with her. The whole scene appeared so domestic to her. She momentarily wondered if this is what life with Harvey Specter would look like. Coming home after a long day, lounging on the couch with the tv on, but their focus being on only each other, cuddling on the couch….

She shook her head at the thoughts that seeped into her mind. _We're not even cuddling, we're just sitting here,_ she thought. Ok, maybe she did need sleep.

Standing up, she found herself wobbling a bit in place, Harvey immediately stood up to help settle her.

"You ok?" He looked on in concern, his hands holding her arms gently but firmly.

Donna nodded. "Yeah, just-" She placed a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. "Just have a headache." She gave him a weak smile.

"Why don't you head on to bed and I'll bring you some pain killers. You're probably coming down with a fever." He continued to look at her with concern.

Donna weakly agreed, slowly making her way to her bedroom, Harvey right behind her making sure she was okay until she reached her bed.

Once he made sure she was settled in bed comfortably, Harvey began to head out when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Hey, thank you." Donna told him sleepily, curling into her comforter.

Harvey smiled, taking her in the dim light of her bedroom, only now realizing that the last time he had been here….

He brought up his hand to caress her cheek, feeling her body radiating warmth. "Any time." He answered softly. Before he could think about it, he reached over and gently kissed her cheek, lingering for just a moment.

When he pulled back, her eyes were wide and glassy as they stared at him in surprise.

"I'll be right back." He whispered as he stood straighter, giving her hand a squeeze.

Donna felt her whole face heating up, a shiver running through her body, and her heart rate picking up.

She knew it wasn't because of the fever.


End file.
